Get Organized: January is clean out your closets month

Not only is January “Get Organized Month,” but it’s also “Clean out your closets month.” To make the task of sorting through, de-cluttering and organizing your closets a little less daunting, try these steps:

1. Baby steps: Take it slowly, organizing one shelf, one drawer or one section at a time.

January is "clean out your closets month"(Photo: ibaimage/Getty Images)

3. PURGE! If you’re not getting rid of stuff, all you’re doing is rearranging the clutter.

4. Donate, sell or consign: It doesn’t matter how much you paid for an outfit, purse or pair of shoes. If you don’t like how you look or feel in something, get rid of it!

5. Less really is more. Simplify your life and think like a French woman, saving your money for one “good” handbag, rather than 10 “cheap” ones.

6. Matching hangers are a must! Buy a fixed number of matching “velvet” hangers. When you run out, it’s not time to buy more, but it is time to clean your closets.

Now that your closets are de-cluttered and tidy, I challenge you to “shop” in your own closets, and NOT in the stores, for three months.

Premier Professional Organizer Marla Ottenstein offers expert residential and corporate professional organizing services. www.ProfessionalOrganizerFlorida.com. Her column, Get Organized – In a Flash runs the third Saturday of each month.